Saturday, September 22, 2007

Two little blackbirds sitting on a wallOne named Peter and one named PaulFly away Peter, fly away Paul,Come back Peter, come back Paul.

The writing group that I have joined, is a go for next Friday, 2:00 if we don't get permanently lost in the corn maze that morning. Kid's field trip. So I now have to decide which prose I want to send for review.

I am siding with the Trapper first chapter, because that is nearest my heart, and also the most polished as it is 3 years old very shortly. I was inspired by a friend's tales of her home town. It prompted me for the first time in my life to write a character whose story would not go away. Writers talk of that, characters grabbing hold, and this happened to me. So here I am 35K later, only getting to the middle, and it is still around. No one has read any of this, other than a paragraph or two. So I am contemplating the first chapter for this writing group. In one way, I don't want to know what anyone thinks, because, like having your kids held out for review. But on the other hand, I haven't a clue what it is really like, so in that, a review from the others.

But then I have this other short story, prompted by my great uncle (my grandmother's uncle) named Seraphim (who would name that kid that!! ego much?), and a cross between that and some online quiz that gave me the other character's name, and then the story was born. I am a little more curious about this one, because I am so close to it, and can see it on repeat in my mind, that I wonder how it would be read. It seems religious, because angel type creatures, but that isn't what it is. But it would seem like that, and that in between place I find really fascinating. How religion could change the story, how our human mythologies would change how these creatures would be viewed by the reader? Plus touching religious images is always hot button. And if I even come close to making that clear, while still keeping the mythology intact. I know I am not there yet, and it still needs tons of work, less polished then the Trapper chapter. Choices, choices...

In between spaces are so fascinating. The taking of the "what is" and pushing and pulling, and playing with the spaces and the placement and breaking it, and seeing the new empty spaces. And the new forms of what becomes. So cool. Dawn's drawing in The Body. /BtVS reference.

Taking characters who on first read seem sleazy and maybe mean, poor choices, and finding their humanity, and playing with that. Letting them see that too, I think that is cool. One of the themes in the Trapper story, is the idea about how people see other people, and how that affects each of them. How the idea of the town view, the public spectacle of someone's life is the same and different from their inner life. Again, the in between places. That line I wrote in one of my April poems about the spaces between the leaves, the trees, really placed it down. Funny how one line of poetry can say it so clearly.